Credit: Alyssa Ao

Tyler, The Creator released his new album “CHROMAKOPIA,” which is based off of Chroma the Great from the novel “The Phantom Tollbooth” written by Norton Juster.

Rapper and record producer Tyler, The Creator released his eighth studio album called “CHROMAKOPIA.” The album was released on Oct. 28 and quickly gained traction across music streaming apps. Tyler has performed in many music events such as Coachella, the Grammys and more. Many of his most popular songs are also used as sounds on TikTok.

On the cover of the album, Tyler poses as his own version of the character “Chroma the Great” from the book “The Phantom Tollbooth.” In the book, Chroma is one of the few sane men left and is the conductor of the color orchestra.

The opening song of the album, “St. Chroma” featuring Daniel Caesar, starts with marching footsteps in the background that continue through a chorus. The song then leads to a dramatic beat and then back to a soft choir without any background music. We enjoyed the lyrics “I just need this time to myself to figure me out” since they filled us with anticipation for the rest of the album.

“Rah Tah Tah,” the second song on the album, boosted our energy from the compelling beats and rapid-firing lyrical jabs. Tyler’s effortless manipulation of sound effects hooks the listener from the very beginning, and his energetic yet steady voice keeps you engaged until the very end. This song creates a contrast between the more personal songs toward the end of the album by providing a confident, witty brag track.

With a seamless transition, Tyler shifts the focus to his next song, “Noid.” The ethereal choral union in the beginning ties together the spoken ending of the previous song. Tyler also incorporates a sample of the lead singer, Paul Ngozi, from the Zambian band Ngozi Family. Paul Ngozi sings in Chewa, a language spoken across Zambia, Mozambique and Malawi.

The song “Darling, I,” featuring Teezo Touchdown, is about falling in love, a change from Tyler’s previous album, “IGOR,” which mentioned his desire to not fall in love with someone. Throughout all of Tyler’s albums, he refers back to his sexuality and the difficulty of finding and accepting himself. This song has a similar beat as some of his older songs and is a catchy song to sing-along to.

From there, Tyler set a significantly symbolic mood with the song “Hey Jane.” The song tells a story through a heated conversation between Tyler and someone named Jane, where both people address each other back and forth surrounding an unplanned pregnancy.

“I Killed You” is one of the songs that we relistened to to understand the lyrics. The beat and instruments used for this song are different from ones that Tyler has used for his other songs. The light acoustic guitar, African-style drum pattern and triangle instruments let Tyler’s vocals and rapping take the stage as he confronts societal expectations.

A song that shocked Tyler’s fans is his song “Like him,” featuring Lola Young. Tyler’s fans have known of his estranged relationship with his father as he never grew up with his biological father. His lyrics are captivating as they reference him chasing the ghost of his father and repeats how much love he has for his mom as the song continues, but at the end of the song, the audio message from his mother is shocking. His mom confesses that his father did want to be a part of Tyler’s life but she made the decision to not let him. This song is captivating for its beat and intense storytelling lyrics.

Tyler’s album uses a different tone in each song to tell a captivating story that reflects on his own life. The beats, lyrics and voice memos from his mother make this album interesting and engaging to listeners.